Raw ALMA data files include autocorrelation outputs from the antennas
which do not have atmospheric or instrumental effects subtracted. In
principle, a well-modeled astronomical source could be subtracted from
the autocorrelations, leaving the atmosphe...

A new feature that has been requested from the users has finally come
to the helpdesk! You can now reply to your open tickets via email.
When you get a notification of a reply to your helpdesk ticket, you
can now hit reply in your email client instea...

A statement on the potential for publicity for an ALMA proposal is no
longer required. However, as stated in ALMA Proposers Guide in the
Documents and Tools [1] Section of the ALMA Science Portal [2], "If
the PI believes their results are newsworthy or...

There is no difference in the feathering process between the Solar
and other observations, except for the case that the field of view is
very near the solar limb (< the diameter of the primary beam). For the
limb observations, you might need to apply t...

For a full description of the ALMA scheduling process, see the ALMA
Proposers Guide in the Documents and Tools [1] Section of the ALMA
Science Portal [2].
Proposals will be assessed on the overall scientific merit of the
proposed investigation and i...

The ALMA calibrator database can be directly queried through a web
form at http://almascience.org/sc/ [1].
Alternatively, you can query the ALMA calibrator database from the OT
in this way:
* Open up the OT and create a Science Goal (or use an e...

A principal investigator (PI) and people delegated by the PI (see
Knowledgebase Article: _\"As PI of an ALMA proposal, how can I give
others access to the data during the proprietary period?_ [1]_"_) can
sign up to receive email notification of certain...

ALMA can actually point at the Sun (solar observations are available
from Cycle 4). Small grooves or etchings in the antenna surface are
designed to ensure that sunlight is not reflected to the secondary
subreflector. However, detectable solar emission is...

Please note first the limitations of ALMA observations:
* The longest duration of one scheduling block (SB) is 2 hours.
* Every SB includes a calibration session before starting scientific
observation. The duration of the session is 25~30 minute...

The ALMA Science Portal allows users to link their ALMA accounts to
an account at a trusted institution. This can be done on the Science
Portal profile page [1], by clicking on the "Account linking" tab.
Trusted institutions are currently limited to ES...

You can use the OT to retrieve your current and any previously
submitted ALMA proposals that you are PI or Co-I on. Use the OT
commands: File=>Open Project=>From Archive, and search based on your
ALMA username or proposal ID.
If your username and p...

The ALMA Snooping Project Interface (SnooPI) is a read-only web
application that allows Principal Investigators (PIs) to follow their
ALMA projects from the moment of acceptance all the way to data
delivery. SnooPI is available at
http://almascience.or...

When you request an observation with single-pointing, the time cadence
of images is limited by the integration time of the 64-bits
correlator. Since the integration time is set to 1 second, the highest
time cadence is 1 second. When you request a "mosaic"...

For interferometric observations, we have to observe a quasar as a
phase calibrator every ~10 minutes for single-pointing, ~5 minuets for
MOSAIC observations at Bands 3 and 6. Therefore, the duration of a
continuous solar observation is approximately 10 o...

For sources distributed widely in the sky, the Science Goal (SG) will
be split by the OT into different "clusters", each grouping all
sources within 10 degrees. WHILE THERE IS NO RESTRICTION ON THE TOTAL
NUMBER OF SOURCES IN A SG, FOR EACH GROUPING ...

For interferometric observations, the highest time resolution is set
by the shortest correlator dump time. In so-called time division mode
(TDM), the correlator can output every 16ms (though at reduced
spectral resolution), so you can Nyquist sample a 32m...

If not completed by the end of the Cycle, previous Cycle observing
programs assigned grade A will be carried over to the following Cycle.
The relative scheduling priority ranking of programs will proceed as
follows (see the ALMA Proposers Guide in t...

The order ALMA is hoping to add new bands is as follows:
* Band 5 will be available from Cycle 5 (Pre-announcement [1] and
additional information [2])
* Band 1 receivers (35--50 GHz) are currently being developed as an
ALMA Development Project.
* P...

After ALMA data are fully assessed for quality assurance and delivered
through the Regional ARCs, the one year (6 months for a DDT)
proprietary clock starts for that delivered MOUS. Extensions to the
proprietary period for any observing program are _stro...

If a user selects the "Choose a Solar System Object" option (SSO) in
the OT Field Setup, the OT sets the position to RA=0deg, Dec=0deg.
However the OT time estimate depends on the declination of the
observed source, as described in Section "Sky tem...

The ALMA duplication guidelines are published at
http://almascience.org/proposing/call-for-proposals/duplications [1],
the duplication criteria are published in the Duplicate Observation
and Resubmissions Section of the ALMA Proposer's guide [2] docume...

When you submit a helpdesk ticket, notification is sent to triage
staff at your affiliated ALMA Regional Center (ARC). Triage staff will
assign the ticket to the appropriate staff person within the ARC and a
reply will be sent within two working days. ...

Large Programs may designate any number of co-PIs, who share the
overall responsibility with the PI in conducting the proposed science,
however only the PI has the responsibility for SBs preparation and
approval, and the delivery of the data products i...

Publications making use of ALMA data must include the following
statement in the acknowledgement:
"This paper makes use of the following ALMA data:
ADS/JAO.ALMA#[Project code] . ALMA is a partnership of ESO
(representing its member states), NSF (USA)...

The absolute positional accuracy of an ALMA image, made with normal
phase referencing depends, on the target signal to noise and the array
resolution, but also on the quality of the phase calibration that
depends on the atmosphere delay fluctuations an...

The Atacama Compact Array (ACA), also known as the Morita Array, is
composed of twelve closely spaced 7-meter antennas (7-m Array), and
four 12-meter antennas for single dish observations (Total Power
Array). The array is designed to enhance wide-field im...

If you have CASA information, tips, or tricks to share with the ALMA
or CASA communities please submit it to the NRAO Science Forum. This
could include tips on using CASA, scripts or modules that extend
CASA's functionality, questions about installing ...

The bandpass stability has been tested during 2013 and 2014 for Bands
3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 with 21-35 antennas. The amplitude variation
is estimated to be
Links:
------
[1]
http://almascience.org/documents-and-tools/latest/alma-technical-handbook...

The voltage pattern assumed by CASA for the ALMA 12-m primary beam is
currently hard coded to a uniformly illuminated 10.7-m dish with 0.75m
blockage, resulting in an Airy disk whose FWHM is SIMILAR to a 12m
Gaussian illumination with -12dB taper and 0...

The spectral resolution of ALMA data will be two times the channel
spacing, as the data will be Hanning smoothed by default, when no
channel averaging is set in the Observing Tool (OT) by the proposers.
The OT reports the number of Hanning-smoothed spe...

Observations will typically be scheduled during night/morning time in
16-20 h shifts and three days a week also during daytime, interrupted
by periods of engineering, computing and commissioning activities to
maintain and further develop the array.
...

Users of any professional background, nationality or affiliation may
submit an ALMA proposal. All proposals are reviewed without regard to
the nationalities or affiliations of the investigators.
Successful projects will have their observing time ass...

The selection process for projects is explained in ALMA Proposer's
Guide available at the Documents and Tools [1] Section of the ALMA
Science Portal [2]. Proposals will be assessed on the overall
scientific merit of the proposed investigation and its p...

For ALMA Cycles 0-4 data packages, the images that are included in
the data delivery package may not include all spectral windows, or all
channels, or all targets that were observed as part of the science
program. These images are meant to be represent...